In Bakun, information is POWER
By Wong Teck Chi
The Belaga state seat which houses the controversial Bakun dam, is seen as one of the few Orang Ulu constituencies the opposition has a chance of winning in the next Sarawak state election, which needs to be held before July next year.
However, lack of information caused by remote geographical factors might prove to be a stumbling block for local voters to make informed decisions on their future.
The constituency is as large as Pahang state, but has only a population of around 20,000 and 7,000 registered voters. About half are concentrated in the Sungai Asap resettlement area.
It lacks basic infrastructure like tarred roads, phone services and television signals, which impedes the flow of information on the latest developments in the state and nation. There are no newspapers and no free-to-air television.
The only media that is accessible in this area is the Astro satellite television service, which the majority can’t afford.
So, many rather install Parabola – a satellite dish that allows them to watch Indonesian television programmes without charge – as their main source of entertainment.
Many of them are not exposed to developments outside their area. This favours the ruling parties because they have the government machinery to gain access the people living here.
Naha Jalei, which is located in the remote upstream area of Sungai Balui, is one of such examples.
The longhouse, which is only accessible by boat through Sungai Balui, is a six-hour journey from the Bakun dam and it can cost about RM3,000, depending on the size of the boat and the experience of boatman.
Although the Kayans here are fighting with the government in the court on Bakun’s compensation issue, the ruling BN still enjoy a majority support here as shown in the last state election.
If not for the visit of native activist Micheal Jok (left) last month, the locals would never know the meaning of their votes in both general and state elections and how they can influence the running of the government.
The former priest followed a documentary video team to Naha Jalei and held a talk one night, which was attended by around 30 villagers.
He explained how the local BN assemblymen had voted to pass laws unfavourable to native communities that were tabled by the state government, especially regarding native customary rights (NCR) land.
“This root of the problem is actually us – we believed BN’s promises and voted for them,” he said.
Reliance on the government service
When interviewed later, Micheal explained that the naiveness is due to villagers’ reliance on government assistance especially when they are living in remote areas.
“Although they might not be happy, they rely on the government to provide basic facilities like health and education services, so they have to vote for the ruling party. If not, they might think it would be the end of them,” he said.
He called this reliance “development politics”, which transforms the villagers into “babies” who have to rely on the “parents” to feed them.
“In the past, there were many independent candidates, but they only appeared during election times and never worked together as an opposition force, so they don’t offer much choice also.”
He said what the local activists can do is explain the truth to the people.
“We try to impress on them that the politicians are trying to confuse us, saying that there will be no schools or clinics if we don’t vote for them. But I hope we can educate them to make wiser choices,” he stressed.
